Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

Odds and ends from Denver

Attempting to match the emotional reaction to yesterday’s entries, we’ll begin this entry by examining why it is so important for the Braves to give Jordan Schafer a multi-year contract RIGHT NOW!!!.

Now that the blood is boiling for those of you who aren’t a part of TEAM SCHAFER, I guess I can greet you with a good morning from Denver, where Scott Proctor and Cory Gearrin have not surrendered a run in more than 12 hours.

While last night’s 12-3 loss was ugly in many ways, it seemed to at least strengthen some opinions about what the Braves should do between now and the trade deadline.

It still seems quite obvious that they would greatly benefit from the addition of a right-handed reliever. Gearrin has struggled mightily against left-handed hitters and Proctor has simply struggled. Adding at least another arm out there will lessen the strain placed on Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty down the stretch.

During last night’s game the idea of trading the experienced Derek Lowe might have become a little less appealing as rookie right-hander Brandon Beachy experienced the roughest start of his young career.

Before evaluating these two trade angles, it must be noted that Beachy once again managed to impress with the way he handled last night’s outing. After hanging a pair of sliders that led to Troy Tulowitzki’s three-run, first-inning homer and Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run, second-inning homer, Beachy refused to blame the thin Rocky Mountain air at Coors Field.

Instead he quickly pointed out that he had also struggled with his slider during his previous start on July 8 in Philadelphia. When asked about the career-high five walks he issued, Beachy said he was simply being stubborn with his attempts to paint the outside corner with fastballs against left-handed hitters.

Never did he say, “there were some borderline calls” or anything like that. Instead the 24-year-old hurler once again proved accountable and in the process showed why he gained immediate respect when he was welcomed to the Braves clubhouse late last season.

Since Beachy wouldn’t say it, I’ll describe last night’s outing as simply a learning experience. While allowing six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, he recorded just one groundball out and three strikeouts (two against Ubaldo Jimenez). Still his line might not have been so ugly had he not become the latest pitcher to learn breaking balls often react a little different in the thin Rocky Mountain air.

Beachy should return to form over the course of his next few starts and continue serving as a valuable piece of the rotation. But the fact that he and any of the Major League-ready prospects in the Minor League system are bound to endure growing pains should at least lessen the urge to trade Lowe.

Since becoming a starter in 2002, Lowe has gone 78-67 with a 4.02 ERA before the All-Star break and 65-37 with a 3.81 after the break. Given that he’s now 38 years-old, maybe it’s more appropriate to show his splits since the start of 2008 — 29-30, 4.20 ERA before the break and 22-10, 3.67 ERA after the break.

Say what you want about the way Lowe has pitched this year. You were probably saying some of the same negative things last year. But in September and October, you came to appreciate what he provided on the mound.

Since we’re talking about splits, this seems to be a good time to show just how consistent Dan Uggla has been during his career. And to think it was just a couple weeks ago when it seemed ridiculous to put Uggla and consistent in the same sentence.

During his career, Uggla has hit .255 with a .336 on-base percentage and .478 slugging percentage before the All-Star break. After the break, he has hit .257 with a .346 on-base percentage and .474 slugging percentage.

With his first multi-homer performance of the year last night, Uggla provided another reason to believe he is escaping his early-season nightmare. During his 11-game hitting streak, he has batted .341 with five homers, a .438 on-base percentage and .805 slugging percentage. His batting average has improved from .173 to .192.

I would expect Fredi Gonzalez will put Jason Heyward back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Rockies. The 21-year-old right fielder removed himself from Monday’s lineup because of a sore left foot and was told he needed another day to rest Tuesday.

Obviously yesterday’s entry about Heyward’s struggles stirred a lot of emotions. Some of you agreed, others described me as an idiot.

Some of you couldn’t understand why I wrote there’s a chance Heyward could be sent to the Minors or that he could lose his everyday role in right field. These weren’t simply my opinions. This information was gathered through conversations with scouts, players, associates and members of team management.

It’s very easy to understand why some of you have asked how can you say this about Heyward and not Schafer. Both have struggled mightily and truth be told, I always felt Schafer needed to stay in the Minors for at least the first four months of this season.

That possibility was erased when Nate McLouth went on the disabled list in May and Schafer suddenly became the team’s starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter. Even as Schafer has endured growing pains and shown the effects of the significant time he’s missed the past three years, the club has provided every reason to believe they feel his athleticism makes him the best fit for that leadoff spot.

So there has been no reason to even suggest Schafer could return to the Minors.

With Heyward, the Braves possess one of the game’s most physically-gifted young players. It’s their responsibility to provide him whatever he needs to develop and maximize his skills.

Truth be told, the Braves probably weren’t wise to bring Heyward back to the Majors so soon after he rested his sore shoulder for nearly a month this year. He probably should have spent more than just a couple days on a Minor League rehab assignment attempting to fix his swing and approach at the plate.

What’s done is done. But if the Braves do eventually opt to send Heyward back to the Minors for a week or two, it shouldn’t simply be viewed as a demotion. It should be viewed as a decision aimed toward the best interests of a 21-year-old kid with a world of talent.

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253 Comments

Bowman…..i couldn’t agree with you more…..after last nights “learning experience” there is more of a reason not to trade Lowe and look for another RH for the bullpen…..its obvious we need Moylo and Medlen back, but till then we need someone to pick up Proctor who I feel will be gone soon and Cory who still has room to grow….Heyward has hit rock bottom, sophomore funk or whatever he needs a week or 2 in “rehab” the minors to get things back on track…he is just not the same guy from last year……..the pieces are there we just need to get them to fit better…..

I agree in lots of ways. I feel our coaching is lacking right now, but not in the way u may think. The staff’s decision making during the games is overall fine. Its about playing the odds. Somtimes ur gamble right sometimes wrong. However the lacking part for me is related to the literal coaching of the players, also known as teaching them. We have a lot of talent that I feel just needs the right guidance and they should be set up for success. Heyward and shafer have the talent to be both hall of famer’s but there is something little we are missing. Freddie has it, whatever it is but let’s pray he keeps it. Any of them can have the biggest talent in the world but with one small critical thing missing they will never live up to the potential. The coaching staff needs to determine very quickly whether its a drive issue, work ethic, simple mechanics issue, or a teachability issue. If its not teachability the coaches have to fix the issue or the talent is wasted.

Haha Mark if you were referring to me and the Heyward remark, I said it’s “idiotic” to compare Franceour’s struggles with Heyward’s. Different than saying you’re an idiot, which I wasn’t implying. Heyward’s plate discipline is brilliant and at the moment seems slightly damaged. Frenchy excelled to a point because of his athleticism, which wasn’t enough once pitchers started to exploit the fact the he has some of the worst plate discipline in the majors. I wouldn’t argue much against a 1-2 week stint in Gwinnett for J-Hey.. but I do think that it is folly for a world series contender to bat a guy with a sub-300 OBP in the spot which gets the most at-bats in every single game. Speed doesn’t matter much if you don’t walk and can’t hit the ball out of the infield.

from ESPN
“Fredi Gonzalez told us today on our show that they are looking at RH OF Bat that can play all 3 OF pos..so..Beltran?Pence?” This has to be Pence, it’s the language they were using when talking about Pence a week ago.

I hope it’s Pence and not a 4th outfielder they are looking to platoon for LHP. Pence is the right move. Much more reliable and consistent than Beltran. I’d take Beltran too… but Pence is the right move. As long as it doesn’t cost us Tehran/Beachy I’m all for it. Any other prospect and it would be well worth it.

Haha no way. I never gave up on Uggla either. But Freddie is 21.. Schafer is an average defender and has looked awful at the plate. I LIKE THE GUY. I really wish he was excelling the way he could, but do we really want to wait until September to let him figure his shit out?

And yes, Speedy.. the Andruw curse does indeed live on. Though Kotsay wasn’t bad when he was here.

How bout this slash line .178/.250/.344 /.594. That’s Dan Uggla’s totals until 2 weeks ago. Would you have shit canned him and a salary that’s 30 times what schafer makes? I don’t like schafer’s stats, but you really have to look past that. I mean, he changed his whole approach at the plate this spring at the request of the team, he has been robbed on line drives since he came up(that will correct) and someone has got him free swinging since about after his 2nd week up(he was taking pitches when he came up). Coaching staff see this differently than you do, they see the potential of JS, so do I.

You could use that arguement with anyone though couldnt you Bill. Your not very clever are you. Let me spell it out for you. Schafer has no track record of performing, in the majors or in the minors. Therefore waiting for him to “come around” like you would with a proven major leaguer is just delusional. And schafer ranks in the middle of the majors by most defensive measures that exist.

Whats next, we say Tim lincecum was struggling earlier this year so we should stick with scott proctor? Do you see how ridiculous almost everything you say is yet?

Only the Braves can have 2nd and 3rd with no outs and so effortlessly screw it up. All talent aside, the approach our offense takes in certain situations is so pathetic. Heyward grounds to second right on queue.

Prado with a base running mistake and a game-losing error. I would not want to be a water cooler in the clubhouse right now. Dude gets pissed when he makes an out in the first inning. Would hate to see what he is doing right now.
You know what – when you’re Martin Prado, you can have the occasional bad game. He will more than make up for it.

Yeah Bill, Jonny Gomes does seem like more of a Wren type deal. But, you can’t argue with it; he’s hitting like .340/.460/..560 against lefties. We have no room for a full time Pence player unless Prado plays short and gets Sea Bass’ sorry ass of the field.

Bill – you’d be proud of me. I just got banned from Pwj’s Capitol Avenue blog for this comment: “…of course, I am talking to a bunch of people in here who still think Kelly Johnson should be playing outfield for the Braves….”

Peter’s love child KJ. Ah, the good old days. Peter had to go start his own blog because of that argument. He was insisting that Martin was just a Backup INF and KJ would come around soon. Whoops. Yea, Peter banned me from CAC before it even got up I think. I’ve been banned from better web sites than that.

Wow, you got banned? I wonder why. Maybe because you are the biggest troll I have ever come across online. You dont even care about baseball you just like to argue. Then you claim its because I am so stupid, whereas in reality we all know you were trying to argue with everyone before I even posted here. You are a troll. WHy dont you quit being a troll and leave this blog so we can talk baseball without you trolling it.

I hope we dont see another game like that out of prado. Base running error cost us at least 1 run. Terrible error in the 9th cost us the game. He didnt move schafer over when he was at 2nd with nobody out twice. Terrible. And no, I am not ragging on prado. He is amazing. But he has a shocking game last night. I expect him to rebound tonight and have a big game. that is what a gamer like prado does….I hope!

How many times is this clown going to say he is gone forever, but then come back the next day. Nobody likes a quiter, but they dislike a flip flopper even more.

I would like to see us get Pence, but at what cost? I’m sure NCbravesfan could work out a trade for a bat boy and a case of maple bats, but in reality I’m a little concerned about what Houston would be taking from us. If we were to get HP, how long would we have control of him?

So if that is what a gamer like Prado does, then why are you bashing him for last night? Big deal. He made an error. That’s not the norm for him and as you said he will rebound tonight. So why even bring it up? Why don’t you stick to soccer or badminton. I think those sports would be more your speed.

So it makes him above critisim? I didnt say prado is terrible. I just stated the fact that he pretty much had the worst game you can imagine. Maybe you should try reading what I write rather than just abusing me to try and impress billreef. Or do you think I am wrong to say prado pretty much cost of that game? Get a grip you clown.

Pence is worth the cost as long as it’s not Tehran. He is incredibly consistent. .300 hitter with 25 home runes every year. Career average of .291 and he’ll steal 15-20 bases. Career .340 OBP and he’s on pace to drive in over 100 runs this year. Career .290 hitter against lefties. He’d be a game changer to our lineup. As far as prospects go, if the name on the back of the jersey isn’t Tehran/Beachy – it is worth the cost.

Papa – I don’t think Chipper is retiring next year. I think he will fulfill his contract. As long as he knee holds up and he’s contributing… he will be there. Especially if the team keeps winning. The only way I see him retiring is if we win it all this year and he decides to go out on top.

As much as it pains me to even think about believing anything a Fox News broadcaster in any capacity says, looks like Ken Rosenthal is saying Braves aren’t willing to pay the price for Pence. I may be the only one, but I am relieved. And there is no guarantee that Chipper retires next year.

How would it cost too much if it significantly puts us in a realistic championship season? We’re talking prospects that are 2 – 3 years away from making any real impact. What if the window to winning was right now? Hanson and JJ will both be gone in 2-3 years with Boras as their agent. Tehran and Beachy will be anchoring the rotation by then. Huddy will resign with the Braves. Minor/Viz/Delgado are all worth Hunter Pence under team control for the next 2.5 seasons. Our one true weakness is our offensive production against LHP’s and from the right handed side of the plate. Why not improve our one weakness in a championship run to give us the best possible opportunity to win now?

I should clarify – I do not believe it would be wise to trade all 3 of Minor/Viz/Delgado. But one or two of them would be worth it. What’s the point of having pitching depth if you don’t utilize it to put your team in the best opportunity to win. I believe Pence is the kind of player that would put this team on another level. Think of a playoff scenario in which you face Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee 4 times. With our awful stats against LHP, are you saying you are comfortable going up against those guys in a best of 7 series 4 times? Not addressing our biggest need in the middle of a pennant race would be a crime.

I think you’re valuing Pence just too much. 20 HR’s is not really that big of a feat anymore. Look at people who have done it in the recent years(Lyle Overbay, Bengie Molina, hell, even Alex Gonzalez). His career OBP of .339 is extremely… average. His power is even down this year; through 400 PA’s, he only has 11 home runs. Barring an Adam LaRoche like August and September, he won’t hit that illustrious 25 benchmark he’s set for himself. And a big thing is; he’s having a career year average wise, no one should expect him to always hit .330. But all the arbitration judge is going to see is what he did last year; the guy won arbitration this year at somewhere near $7MM, so with this All-Star highlighted career year, he’s setting himself up for north of $10MM for next year and higher the yea after that. so we’d be taking on 2.3 years of Pence for a top pitching prospect, another good prospect, and a decent prospect, plus somewhere around $25MM. At than price for a player lie Pence that we really would have to do something drastic to just get him at-bats, I say hold him. We should not go and make a Texieria-esque deal with someone who is only half the hitter Texieria is.

I wasn’t even ragging on Uggla. If we had to /demote/trade/bench evryone on this team who a’nt hitting we wouldn’t be able to field a team. At least Schafer brings additional tools to the table, while he is slumping.

Also – this needs to be a defensive move. Buster Olney just tweeted that the Phillies are putting together an offer for Pence that center around Vance Worley. We can’t let the Phils get that much better. Especially when we have the same need.

Well I would be OK with that.. as long as he can hit and make an impact against LHP’s. I don’t think I am overvaluing Pence. This year he is batting .386 with runners in RISP and .356 with 2 outs nad runners in RISP. He’s .500 with the bases loaded. Career wise he is .303 with RISP and close to .300 with 2 outs and RISP. He’s no Tex… but I don’t think he will come at a Tex price. Maybe in prospects… but Tex cost us more simply by leaving after one season. Pence will be contributing the next 2-3 years. ATL payroll will be 62 mil in 2012. Even with Arbitration there should be plenty of flexibility.

I agree with Bravo, especially if we will have him for 2+ years. It’s a fine line between trying to win now and preserving the teams competitiveness in the future. If you hold onto too many pieces for the future you could end up not winning at all, because the future never turns into now. Pence is defintely a guy that could put us over the top and make this team a serious World Series contender this year. If nothing changes, we are currently a wild card winner and possibly playing in the NL championship at best. Which isn’t bad, but if there is a chance to do better, we have to take it right?

As for you Zippy. Just because he is not above criticism, doesn’t mean you are justified in doing it. The guy plays his butt off for this team everyday. When he has a month of games like last night, then feel free to complain.

Why isnt it justified? I wasnt saying he is bad. I wasnt saying damn prado is hurting us. All I said was: Fact: Prado had a terrible game last night. Do you dispute this? Can’t blog commentators make comments about the games? You just jumped down my throat to make yourself feel like a big man, but all you did was make yourself look like a tool. Sorry.

A better hitting ss would be great but not at the expense of a major lack of defense. I think we could downgrade defensively at that posistion very slightly and it still be worth it. Too many important plays a ss is involved in. The majority of double plays involve the ss, not to mention how may balls are hit directly to short.this is all why I suggest p7utting martin at short, picking up an of’er who can play at least left and right, see what we can get out of lowe, gonzo, and one pitching prospect and bring minor up. I knowthe dangers of puttng minor out there in the post season as opposed to lowe but I think its worth it. Or if we get lucky and get medlin back, he was much better in the rotation than out of the pen in my opinion but still strong in either spot. Many options, the front office could consider. Let’s hope they chooe well.

Do we really want such a delicate flower like Reyes? ESPN reported this morning that the Met’s wouldn’t trade him before the deadline anways. A guy like that isn’t going to make it through waivers.

Whatever soccer player. You are a whiner. Everybody has to pull for everybody, unless they are named Schafer, ooh ra ra…. Then you are negative about the best hustle guy on the team. There are things you just don’t talk about. Kind of like a perfect game in the 5th inning. Sure you think it, but you don’t speak about it. Everybody already knows Prado didn’t have a great game last night. Again, big freakin deal. Everyone wins 60 and everybody loses 60.
Isn’t it time for you to quit this blog today and then surprise us all with your return tomorrow?

Uggla’s career numbers would allow you to make an assumption that his slump was temporary, and it seems that it was. Schafer’s “slump” is on par w his numbers for the past 3 years. i’m not saying he doesn’t have the ability to improve, i’m saying that it would be very dangerous to not go after a better option in center and hope that does indeed improve for september.

I dont even think nate can hit the ball hard anymore. I would probably pick schafer over him right now. Although I would ideally pick mr. outside hire in centre field. Nate gets walks which is great but he cant even hit a fastball now.

Also I also want to admit I was probably wrong about defending parrish/TP. There is alot of evidence to suggest there is something seriously wrong with the way the braves coach their hitters. Why cant McLouth hit a fast ball anymore? Why cant gonzo do anything anymore? Why does every bat we pick up come to atlatna and die?

I really wish everyone would re-evaluate. There is a LOT of whining going on. Seriously guys, look where we are. Our team is playing well. We are in the hunt. Let the players do what they do, the coaches do what they do, and the front office do what it does. See what happens. But let’s reflect, and be glad that we are approaching August in a pennant race!

We all know brooks stunk it up in that series with san fran last yr but he is the epitome of how hard work can overcome a talent deficit. The whole clubhouse loves his attitude, how great of a teammate he is, and hey, he comes up in the clutch with the bat more often than not. Raw dawg conrad! He is the guy tha so may of us wish we were. I know if I had kept working on it i’d be in the majors right now. NEVER GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS!

As someone who has played sport with my hands at a resonably high level, I can tell you that finger injuries are a bitch. I would be surprised if schafer is back tomorrow, and they have a nasty habit of taking a long long time to truely clear up.

Is spanking the Monkey, considered a sport now? And how high were you when you were doing it. Don’t usually pry into these things, but since you “whipped it out” on a braves blog, I felt compelled to at least ask. It seems you want to share your experience with us, but I am pretty sure we can put that puppy away.

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that a Mets scout was watching Minor in Gwinnett last night. They also quoted Beltran as saying pitching is important in considering his next team. MAN I hope we’re not going to send our #1 draft pick and second best pitching prospect to a team in our own division for a 2 month rental…

It would sure be nice if Chipper would travel with Gwinnett to start his rehab here in Norfolk this weekend. I’m sure he will stay close to Atlanta and just do it with Rome. If he gets started at all this weekend.

So it sounds like whoever loses out on Pence (us or the Phillies) gets stuck with Beltran. That sucks. I hope it’s not us.

Glad we got out of Colorado with a split. After Tuesday and Wednesday, that looks outstanding.

Buster Olney now tweeting Braves are front runner for Beltran. I will not be happy if we send a top pitching prospect to a rival team for a 2 month rental on a injury plagued over the hill switch hitter batting .232 against left handed pitching.

“Houston?s Michael Bourn would give the Braves a legitimate top-of-the-order game-changer who led the NL in steals the last two years and is leading the league again this year. He has a .350 OBP and can run the ball down in center field with phenomenal range. The Braves could offer the Astros left-handed starter Mike Minor, outfielder Jordan Schafer and pitching prospect J.J. Hoover in a blockbuster. The Astros need to build for the future, and the chance to get two pitching prospects and a good defensive center fielder with a strong arm would give them a big boost.”

Why does everything have to be confrontational with you? I have never known anyone watch sport like you do. You want certain players to do well so you can prove yourself to be right and then say I told you so to people.

Uh oh… Is Uggla rising from the dead??? Back to back games with homers from Heyward. Could this offense be turning the corner? I’m not claiming that just a couple of games says it is, I’m just seeing some signs that the pieces that really weren’t producing the entire first half may be getting it going. This is going to get fun!

Ok, Dan let me be the first to apologize to you for the 76 negative comments I have made about you in this blog. You have proven quite capable of helping this team. Great game – let’s not take venters and kimbel for granted. They are amazing. Anybody else laugh when Proctor was warming up in the 7th – nice one Freddie.

Anyhow, let’s continue to show the same patience with Heyward that we showed with Uggs. He has hit the ball very well lately and his 230 average is still better than half the starting lineup – gonzo, uggs, mcclouth and shafer are all lower or the same.

Anyhow, tomorrow they are the game of the week and I will be watching. Don’t think they need Pence. Statistically, he is going to be similar to heyward and heyward will eventually learn how to hit lefties. He is just finding a grove. I don’t know why Wilkin can’t play against the lefties. I guess he may get sent down when chipper comes back so may not be possible.

Just because you come from the Twighlight Zo Zone, Weinus, doesn’t mean we have to expect the thoughtful Mr. Bowman to regurgitate his every bowel movement like Frillies bloggers. Just sit quietly and someone will be with you shortly.

Oh and before you label Mr. Bowman a Southerner you might want to consider that he is a huge WVU fan. I’m pretty sure he is a hillbilly just like you Weinus. Only thing is, he had a school in his county, unlike you who was home schooled by your very friendly Aunt Mary. I guess its true, you can have a child AND a cousin all in one fell swoop.

Bill, not that I have a problem with u giving a phillies fan crap, but pherrishas been rather peaceful lately. No need to instigate stuff. And please tell me u don’t believe the crap u spouted about his penis fixation. It seems to me that by ur logic anyone who has ever been to a PHarmacy must have a penis fixation too.

There is no war, nor will there ever be one wth u. Just wondering though, do u have an inferiority complex or neurosis? U attack everone who doesn’t agre with u like napoleon! Hell, I had a friend who is truly phsycopathic,literally, and he doesn’t try to pick a fight asoften as u do.

How anyone EVER seen anyone hit as badly as gonzo has the last 2 months? his OBP must be about .150. Why the heck isnt nate (obp =.340) hitting above gonzo? No sense fredi you fool. I no longer want an OF. I want a SS in the trade. I am fine with schafer and nate out there. Get us a SS who can actually hit/walk/do anything

Christ, is there anyone McCrash hasn’t run into over the last year? He is dangerous to himself and others on the field. They need to find a position on the field where he can’t run into people. Maybe like, left out?

How about lets start by releasing proctor. He has no value on the field. I don’t even believe we could get the afore mentioned pin ball machine for him. Time to move on. And I agree, bring up pastornicky. I haven’t seen anything on him defensively but he has to be at least servicable in the field, and it would be vry difficult for him to be any more inept at the plate than gonzo.

It’s time to clean house in the Bullpen..First off, all the minor leaguers have gotten as much work as they need by now. End the Gearrin, Proctor, Martinez experiment. Trade em drop em leave em in the minors, I don’t care. bring up Minor and Teheran. Let em get some long relief work at the show. It ain’t gonna ruin em. Hell, they’ll learn more about the game in the next 2 months of a pennant race than they did all year in the bus circuit. They are for sure better than what we blow leads with every night in the middle innings. I mean someone needs to explain to Braves mgmt what the ATL does to starters in the middle of the summer. You shouldn’t be expecting more than 5 from these guys. This ain’t SF. You have to have Middle relief to win in ATL. I give Bobby credit for one thing. When his bullpen had 3 big holes in it, he wen’t and got 3 new arms. It’s time for a little of that style of housekeeping.

What do you think is going to happen when the 40 man rosters open up, there’s a good chance that Minor, Teheran or both gets added to the pen. Bill is just suggesting doing it a little earlier. A little extra exposure in the Majors is good for both of them even if they have a rough outing or two.

Like all the little Nancy boys, you think bringing a pitcher up to compete in a playoff run is gonna stunt their development. It’s probably the biggest problem with pitchers today is that they get mollycoddled and aren’t ready when they get put into situational baseball. Once again, Monkey, you have shown that you know nothing about the game.

Ok, Gonzo plays every day because of his defense, I get that. However,why is he consistently hitting 6th and 7th and not 8th? I remember he actually was hitting second for a week or so. He is an offensive disater. Even worse than Nate Bill, sorry. Nate can at least take a pitch or two and turn the lineup over quicker. I just read on MLB that with Uggla and Heyward picking it up, it is almost the equivalent of trading for an impact bat. They don’t feel as if Wren will trade any of the big 4 for Beltran – Minor, Tehran, Vizciano, or Delgado. I was a little surprised by this, but not disappointed. I like the team with Schafer and McClouth manning center now.

I hate to jump ahead, but I am very curious what will happen next year. Here is my prediction – JJ, Huddy, Beachy, Tehran, and Minor will be the rotation. Hanson and Lowe will be traded. Medlen will be in the bullpen and provide the rotation with insurance as well Delgado in AAA. Just a thought, but they may choose not to move Hanson or Lowe. They definitely need to move one as Tehran is ready and serves no purpose in AAA. Minor should be ready as well, but the AAA stats are not quite as good,
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I agree, Gonzo looks worse than Nate at the plate, but Nate still takes the prize as worst defensive player on club. I like Minor for long relief next year. Would be good to have a LH reliever in that role with our RHed rotation. If Medlen gets back to 100% he is a better starter than Minor.

The awesom thing is tha medlen was great out of the pen and yet even more exceptonal in the rotation last year. I know it may be apipe dream but I would love to have huddy, jj, hanson, medlen, and beachy starting next year. Gives us minor and teheran in case of injuries. And one could step in when hudd hangs em up.

Where is Bobby Cox when you need him? That is the second weak grounder I’ve seen Gonzo not even try to run down the line on… regardless of whether he would have been safe or not, it’s nice to know the guys you are paying to play for your team still want to win. Screw Alex Gonzalez, I wish the season would end already so he would be a free agent. Call Boston, they seem to like him, tell them we’ll trade him for Scutaro straight up.

Gonzo comes through in the clutch once again(2 runners, dribbler in front of the mound). Gonzo horrific numbers actaully don’t tell the story of how badly he is hitting right now. His slash line in the last 30 days,147 /173/200/373. He has 24 SO’s to 3 walks!!!!!! He runs the bases like crap. I am sick of watching that show. Somebody get me a SS, please get me a SS.

Eric O’Flaherty now has an ERA under 1. The most underrated reliever in baseball. He also has 50 appearances. I meaan everyone want to talk about about KimVent(deservedly), but what about some love for the Irish?

We could have albert pujols in the middle of our line up and we wont get anywhere in the postseason with our current bullpen of clowns. Even worse is that 1 of the big three will probably go down before the end of the year. Wren get us pen help I dont care about hitters.

Prado and Hurtward sucked it up tonight. It seems whoever hits at the top of the order automatically becomes a joker. If prado makes that play in the first we win that game. If he gets in those runners with 2 out on 2nd and 3rd we win the game.

Scott Linebrink is not as bad as everyone makes him out to be. With a 3.20 ERA, would you rather have him or Proctor? He’s shaky but a dependable arm in the bullpen. The Proctor experiment needs to end; Frank Wren must owe him money or something.

Agreed. God forbid you actually look at him as a “reliever” instead of the title of “closer”, right? I mean, that’s the way the game is played, has been for a long time, how in the world could it be wrong??? It’s a sin for you to pitch your closer unless it’s a close situation, right? Why on earth would you want to jeopardize someone’s stupid title in order to WIN MORE GAMES?

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